Search
Search results
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Clemency (2019) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
Clemency was high up on my list to see during the festival so I was slightly annoyed to not get the opportunity to see it initially... but it was day one and I was feeling bold with enthusiasm and joine the queue for last minute tickets. It's a great system if it isn't raining, and after some loitering, chatting, and spotting Wendell Pierce on his way to the cinema for the screening I managed to get a spare ticket.
Bernadine has spent years of her life dedicated to giving prisoners the chance to better themselves and live up to their potential, with the death row inmates she tries to give them respect and comfort in their last days. After an execution goes wrong the whole team is affected and with another coming closer Bernadine starts to feel the pressure.
Her life is turned upside down as she starts to interact with Anthony Woods, she can't sleep, she can't be a wife, her only real escape is drink and her colleagues. Where will everything lead her?
My main pull to this was Aldis Hodge, while I tried to avoid seeing who was in each film when I read the synopsis it was difficult on occasion and so this one zipped to my top picks list. He will always be Hardison to me but I've enjoyed seeing him in films recently.
Anthony Woods is obviously on a rollercoaster of emotions and Hodge brings out the sense of desperation his character is feeling. The swing from hope and emptiness to elation gave him several opportunities to surprise and shock us. One of those moments particularly drew a reaction from a lot of people around me and I'll touch on that in a moment.
Alfre Woodard as Warden Bernadine Williams was very powerful, subtle with her emotions when needed but as the film concludes we see an incredibly difficult moment of pain. That moment is ugly and honest, it really hits you.
The film leaves you with a few uncertain points, you can work things out from context but it never says it outright. It also allows you to slowly unfold what's going on and what's still to come.
As you know, I watch a lot (excessive amounts some might say) of movies and it's very rare from something to surprise me. A lot of things are easy to see coming, a characters's actions can show you something violent coming. There are two moments in Clemency that had the audience react much stronger that I expected, I was also surprised by the reaction of the other press delegates who I thought might be in a similar place a me. Both scenes involved blood and when everyone gasped I actually looked around and wondered how it had earned that reaction. Perhaps I wasn't as engaged with it as they were but I didn't find those moments to be gratuitous or all that shocking given the context and the nature of the scenes. It was this point that I had to ponder the thought that seeing too many films and TV shows might have a detrimental effect on my reactions to some sorts of films.
Clemency deals with some fairly heavy topics but it handles them well and in a captivating way, I've glad I managed to get to see this.
What you should do
It's a moving film and I would recommend trying to catch it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Another film where I probably don't need anything to take home from it.
Bernadine has spent years of her life dedicated to giving prisoners the chance to better themselves and live up to their potential, with the death row inmates she tries to give them respect and comfort in their last days. After an execution goes wrong the whole team is affected and with another coming closer Bernadine starts to feel the pressure.
Her life is turned upside down as she starts to interact with Anthony Woods, she can't sleep, she can't be a wife, her only real escape is drink and her colleagues. Where will everything lead her?
My main pull to this was Aldis Hodge, while I tried to avoid seeing who was in each film when I read the synopsis it was difficult on occasion and so this one zipped to my top picks list. He will always be Hardison to me but I've enjoyed seeing him in films recently.
Anthony Woods is obviously on a rollercoaster of emotions and Hodge brings out the sense of desperation his character is feeling. The swing from hope and emptiness to elation gave him several opportunities to surprise and shock us. One of those moments particularly drew a reaction from a lot of people around me and I'll touch on that in a moment.
Alfre Woodard as Warden Bernadine Williams was very powerful, subtle with her emotions when needed but as the film concludes we see an incredibly difficult moment of pain. That moment is ugly and honest, it really hits you.
The film leaves you with a few uncertain points, you can work things out from context but it never says it outright. It also allows you to slowly unfold what's going on and what's still to come.
As you know, I watch a lot (excessive amounts some might say) of movies and it's very rare from something to surprise me. A lot of things are easy to see coming, a characters's actions can show you something violent coming. There are two moments in Clemency that had the audience react much stronger that I expected, I was also surprised by the reaction of the other press delegates who I thought might be in a similar place a me. Both scenes involved blood and when everyone gasped I actually looked around and wondered how it had earned that reaction. Perhaps I wasn't as engaged with it as they were but I didn't find those moments to be gratuitous or all that shocking given the context and the nature of the scenes. It was this point that I had to ponder the thought that seeing too many films and TV shows might have a detrimental effect on my reactions to some sorts of films.
Clemency deals with some fairly heavy topics but it handles them well and in a captivating way, I've glad I managed to get to see this.
What you should do
It's a moving film and I would recommend trying to catch it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
Another film where I probably don't need anything to take home from it.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Chernobyl Diaries (2012) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
What do you get when you pair the director of “Paranormal Activity” with a handful of unknown actors, a one-hit wonder soap-star-turned-singer, and a plot based upon the Chernobyl meltdown? You guessed it: a sub-par suspense film with a poorly executed ending.
Meet Chris, Amanda, and Natalie – a trio of pretty Americans touring Europe and en route to Russia to meet Chris’ older brother, Paul, in Minsk. Unbeknownst to Amanda, Chris confides in his older brother his plan to propose to her upon their arrival in Moscow, their next destination. However, Paul decides to intervene and proposes a new plan: an extreme tourism excursion in the abandoned city of Pripyat, just outside of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Despite Chris’ pleas, the group decides to take up Paul’s offer and embark the next day to Chernobyl/Pripyat under the guide of Uri, an ex-Soviet Special Forces agent.
Piling into an assault-van of sorts and accompanied by a pair of last minute travelers – an Aussie named Mike and his blonde Norse girlfriend, Zoe – they set off on the 2-hour drive to Pripyat. However, it is upon arrival at their destination that they find the area restricted to tourists by the Soviet guard. Undaunted, Uri drives the van to another remote access point, stealing them into the abandoned city of Pripyat for their excursion. It is there, as one can imagine, that some unknown element intercedes and prevents them from leaving the city. Somehow wires to the van’s starter are cut and they are forced to stay overnight. It’s at this point, as you can imagine, the horror movie element sets in and the typical suspense-film-plot takes over.
Of course, people leave the van to investigate “strange noises” and, of course, they are picked off one by one. As the movie progresses and the horror-film starts to settle in, the plot unravels and you’re ultimately left with one of the lamest endings conceived. Basically, you’ve had almost two hour’s worth of build-up and suspense for absolutely nothing.
Suspense-wise, you’re definitely going to jump here and there; my poor date had to suffer through my grabbing his hand and leg on more than one occasion. Acting wise, there’s nothing substantial. Jesse McCartney draws upon his experience as a soap actor for the more emotional role and Devin Kelley who plays Amanda seems more adept at sticking out her chest than acting her way out of a bag. But I digress, horror movies aren’t exactly based on strong acting skills, right?
If you’re looking for a good suspense film, something that gives you an excuse to grab your date’s hand or squeal like a girl, then this is a good film for that. If you’re looking for something twisted, something akin to “The Hills Have Eyes” or “Silent Hill,” then this falls rather short in comparison. The director had so many opportunities to delve further into the Chernobyl mystery and play up the radiation/mutation stab, but failed to provide any substance behind his direction. For my taste, there were too many unanswered questions and vague allusions for me to be wholly impressed with the movie. The premise had a lot of potential and promise but honestly failed to deliver.
Meet Chris, Amanda, and Natalie – a trio of pretty Americans touring Europe and en route to Russia to meet Chris’ older brother, Paul, in Minsk. Unbeknownst to Amanda, Chris confides in his older brother his plan to propose to her upon their arrival in Moscow, their next destination. However, Paul decides to intervene and proposes a new plan: an extreme tourism excursion in the abandoned city of Pripyat, just outside of the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Despite Chris’ pleas, the group decides to take up Paul’s offer and embark the next day to Chernobyl/Pripyat under the guide of Uri, an ex-Soviet Special Forces agent.
Piling into an assault-van of sorts and accompanied by a pair of last minute travelers – an Aussie named Mike and his blonde Norse girlfriend, Zoe – they set off on the 2-hour drive to Pripyat. However, it is upon arrival at their destination that they find the area restricted to tourists by the Soviet guard. Undaunted, Uri drives the van to another remote access point, stealing them into the abandoned city of Pripyat for their excursion. It is there, as one can imagine, that some unknown element intercedes and prevents them from leaving the city. Somehow wires to the van’s starter are cut and they are forced to stay overnight. It’s at this point, as you can imagine, the horror movie element sets in and the typical suspense-film-plot takes over.
Of course, people leave the van to investigate “strange noises” and, of course, they are picked off one by one. As the movie progresses and the horror-film starts to settle in, the plot unravels and you’re ultimately left with one of the lamest endings conceived. Basically, you’ve had almost two hour’s worth of build-up and suspense for absolutely nothing.
Suspense-wise, you’re definitely going to jump here and there; my poor date had to suffer through my grabbing his hand and leg on more than one occasion. Acting wise, there’s nothing substantial. Jesse McCartney draws upon his experience as a soap actor for the more emotional role and Devin Kelley who plays Amanda seems more adept at sticking out her chest than acting her way out of a bag. But I digress, horror movies aren’t exactly based on strong acting skills, right?
If you’re looking for a good suspense film, something that gives you an excuse to grab your date’s hand or squeal like a girl, then this is a good film for that. If you’re looking for something twisted, something akin to “The Hills Have Eyes” or “Silent Hill,” then this falls rather short in comparison. The director had so many opportunities to delve further into the Chernobyl mystery and play up the radiation/mutation stab, but failed to provide any substance behind his direction. For my taste, there were too many unanswered questions and vague allusions for me to be wholly impressed with the movie. The premise had a lot of potential and promise but honestly failed to deliver.
HiNative - Learn Languages
Education and Social Networking
App
HiNative is a global Q&A community for language learners and people that are curious about the...
Nancy Love and the WASP Ferry Pilots of World War II
Book
She flew the swift P-51 and the capricious P-38, but the heavy, four-engine B-17 bomber and C-54...
Handbook of High-Frequency Trading and Modeling in Finance
Ionut Florescu, Maria C. Mariani, H. Eugene Stanley and Frederi G. Viens
Book
Reflecting the fast pace and ever-evolving nature of the financial industry, the Handbook of...
Customers New Voice: Extreme Relevancy and Experience Through Volunteered Customer Information
John S. McKean and Dan Bachrach
Book
Find out how to reap the benefits of motivating and engaging the new, direct customer voice The...
Surviving AI: The promise and peril of artificial intelligence
8.0
Rate It
Book
Artificial intelligence is our most powerful technology, and in the coming decades it will change...
LOOKMEUP – Dating in places of leisure near
Dating, Lifestyle and Social Networking
2.0
Rate It
App
LOOKMEUP - MEET HERE! MEET NOW! The existing dating apps use the same algorithms, which are in...
Lost - Season 1
8.5
Rate It
TV Season Watch
Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific island, leaving 48 passengers...
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated King of Thieves (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
I'd been on the fence about this one. The trailer King Of Thieves looked both good and bad in equal measures. Some of the clips they used weren't even particularly good when you saw them in the context of the whole films so I have no idea how they made it into such an important cut. Since seeing the Unlimited Screening I've seen the second trailer that is actually much better than the first. It's probably a god send that I didn't see it before the film otherwise I think I'd have been even more disappointed.
The film runs at a surprisingly short 1 hour 48 minutes, but don't worry, it feels like a lot longer than that. At one point I checked my phone for the time and nearly audibly swore (which probably would have been drowned out by the swearing of the film) about there being 20 minutes to go.
The idea is a great one, and the true life story behind it gives some opportunities for hilariously comedic moments, and yet somehow nothing was really fulfilled. I laughed a little, but I really didn't find it as amusing as some of the other cinema goers. The were a couple of voices in the darkness who were laughing hard that then set of a tiny ripple of tittering. I'm glad they enjoyed it so much, but I didn't once feel the need to laugh so hard.
Looking back on it I was left wondering something... did any of the police characters actually speak? The only things I remember were screamed words while arrests were made and lots of knowing looks and satisfied grins. Honestly can't remember any lines at all. I'm thinking they hired the main line-up and went "well that blew the acting budget, better cut all the other speaking parts."
Something that bugged me slightly was the use of spliced footage from the actor's younger days. It's a nice idea, but ultimately, when it was used undermined the message at the end of the film. Brian doesn't want them to be seen as old boys who are past their prime, so the film should have let them walk off to their sunset retirement not jumble it up with their younger selves and losing that moment between them all. It would have made perfect sense having the footage mixed into the scenes where the police were uncovering their identities and piecing the case together.
That line up was indeed fantastic, and that's why this film was so disappointing to me. All of them have done much better work than this. The script, or real lack thereof is what contributed the most to this let down. I'm not really sure that it should have two stars at all. In fact, no... *I'm revoking one of them, I've just been reading my criteria and I can't let it have two. ★☆☆☆☆ The story behind it and the cast potential don't make up for this lacklustre film.
What should you do?
There are some good scenes and a truly star studded cast, but even those don't really make up for the potential that this film squandered. If you like heist movies then it might be worth a watch but I feel like there are better ones out there to see.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
All that loot, obviously!
The film runs at a surprisingly short 1 hour 48 minutes, but don't worry, it feels like a lot longer than that. At one point I checked my phone for the time and nearly audibly swore (which probably would have been drowned out by the swearing of the film) about there being 20 minutes to go.
The idea is a great one, and the true life story behind it gives some opportunities for hilariously comedic moments, and yet somehow nothing was really fulfilled. I laughed a little, but I really didn't find it as amusing as some of the other cinema goers. The were a couple of voices in the darkness who were laughing hard that then set of a tiny ripple of tittering. I'm glad they enjoyed it so much, but I didn't once feel the need to laugh so hard.
Looking back on it I was left wondering something... did any of the police characters actually speak? The only things I remember were screamed words while arrests were made and lots of knowing looks and satisfied grins. Honestly can't remember any lines at all. I'm thinking they hired the main line-up and went "well that blew the acting budget, better cut all the other speaking parts."
Something that bugged me slightly was the use of spliced footage from the actor's younger days. It's a nice idea, but ultimately, when it was used undermined the message at the end of the film. Brian doesn't want them to be seen as old boys who are past their prime, so the film should have let them walk off to their sunset retirement not jumble it up with their younger selves and losing that moment between them all. It would have made perfect sense having the footage mixed into the scenes where the police were uncovering their identities and piecing the case together.
That line up was indeed fantastic, and that's why this film was so disappointing to me. All of them have done much better work than this. The script, or real lack thereof is what contributed the most to this let down. I'm not really sure that it should have two stars at all. In fact, no... *I'm revoking one of them, I've just been reading my criteria and I can't let it have two. ★☆☆☆☆ The story behind it and the cast potential don't make up for this lacklustre film.
What should you do?
There are some good scenes and a truly star studded cast, but even those don't really make up for the potential that this film squandered. If you like heist movies then it might be worth a watch but I feel like there are better ones out there to see.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
All that loot, obviously!